V.'*, 



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The Chiriqui Improvement Company 



Ambrose W. Thompson. 



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Book - 6j'^<^2 



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The ChipiIQui Improyement Company 



Ambrose W. Thompson. 



.A.BSTI^.A.OT OF TITLES- 



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ABSTEACT OF TITLE, 



THE CHIRIQUI IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, AND AMBROSE W. THOMPSON, 
c TO LANDS, FRANCHISES, AND OTHER PRIVILEGES, IN THE PROVINCE 

OF CHIRIQUI, IN THE UNITED STATES OF COLOMBIA; AND IN THE 

REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA, j 



Lands, Franchises, and other Privileges in ike Province of Chiriqui. 

I. — The Constitution of 1853, of the Eepublic of New G-ranacla, the 
basis of public administration throughout the Confederation, contained 
the following articles : • 

"Art. 10. The Eepublic of New Granada establishes for its manage- 
ment and general administration a iDopular representative alternative, 
and responsible G-overnment. It reserves to the provinces or territorial 
sections the municipal power in all its amplitude." * * * 

"Art. 48. Each province has suf&cient constitutional power to legis- 
late on all that which they may think or judge convenient for their 
organization, management, and interior administration, without invad- 
ing the objects which are of the competence of the General Government, 
regarding which the obligation to, conform to the provision of this Con- 
stitution, or the laws, is absolute, and cannot be prescinded." 

'^Art. 50. The government and municipal management of each i)rov- 
ince shall be in charge of a Provincial Legislature, in the legislative part, 
and of a Governor in the executive part, who will also be the natural 
agent of the General Executive j)ower, with other iiinctionaries which 
may be created for that purpose." 

Lands. 

II. — (1.) Grant of public lands, with accompanying rights and privi- 
leges, made by the Camara, or Legislative Council, of the Province of 
Chiriqui, October 18, 1852, to Seuor Santiago Agnew, at Golfo Dulce, 
on the Pacific side of the Isthmus. 

(2.) Ordinance of same, December 31, 1852, fixing the limits of the 
grant, as follows: A line from the mouth of the De Las Esquinas river, ' 
in the centre of. Golfo Dulce, t(3> the summit, pf the Cordillerasr^n-:^ ^^/re 

(3.) Official -declaration by the authorities of Chiriqui, May 4, 1853, 
that the conditions of the grant had been fulfilled, and formally declar- 
ing Senor Santiago Agnew in full possession of the lands. 



(4.) Declaration, JSToveiiiTber 13, 1854, of equal partnership in the 
grant, between Seuor Santiago Agnew and John Eugene Flandin. 

(5.) Conveyance by Agnew and Flandin, and Ambrose W. Thompson^ 
April 12, 1855, (on the part of Agiiew and Flandin; of the lands included 
in the said grant: on the part of Ambrose W. Thompson; of the road- 
grant and accompanying land-grant hereinafter described,) (see section 
III,) to W. Rossell Foster, Samuel E. Johnson, and Ambrose W. Thomp- 
son, trustees, in trust, to be conveyed to some company or corporation 
thereafter to be formed to execi^e the purposes of the respective 
grants. 

(6.) Charter of the Chiriqui Imj)rovemeut Company, granted by 
Legislature of Pennsylvania, acts of April 21 and May 6, 1854, and 
May 3, 1855; recognized by decree of the United States of Colombia, 
June 20, 1866. 

(7.) Conveyance by said trustees, June 8, 1855, to the Chiriqui Im- 
provement Company — conveys all said property held in trust, as afore- 
said. 

(8.) Conveyance, July 28, 1855, by Agnew and Flandin to the Chiriqui 
Imi^rovement "Company — a release, made in confirmation of the con- 
veyance of June 8, 1855. 

Boad-grant and accompanying Land-grant. 

III. — Grant of the Provincial Legislature of Chiriqui, February 20, 

1854, to Ambrose W. Thompson, of the right to imi)rove and use for 
sixty years, a provincial road from David, the capital of the Prov- 
ince, to Bocas del Toro, terminating at Chiriqui Lagoon, the road to be 
commenced in twenty-four months and completed in sis years, the limita- 
tion of the grant being sixty years thereafter. 

[This grant conveys land as follows : 

(1.) Twenty-five varas in width along the line of the road. 

(2.) Land requisite for buildings, materials, &c. 

(3.) Fifteen thousand fanegadas of laud north of the Cordilleras, 
and twenty-five thousand south of the same — being, in all, about 
forty-five thousand fanegadas, about one hundred and thirty-five thou- 
sand acres.] 

{a.) The opinion of the Attorney-General of ]Srew Granada, aflBrming 
the grant as " essentially valid," filed, and the decision of the Supreme 
Court of New Granada thereupon, January 11, 1855, that the ordinance 
of February 20, 1854, should be placed in the public archives. 

(0.) Ordinance of the Provincial Legislature of Chiriqui, June 21, 

1855, fixing the time within which the road should be opened, at twenty- 



four mouths from September 1, 1855, and amending the original grant 
accordingly. 

(c.) Oertiflcate of the Minister of tlie Interior of New Granada, 
July 1, 1855, that the ordinance of February 20, 1854, had been sub- 
mitted to the Attorney -General of the Eepublic for an official opinion 
upon the question whether it infringed any of the rights of the Panama 
Railroad Compajuy, and the opinion of the Attorney-General, showing 
that it did not so infringe, and that proceedings for its annulment would 
be unauthorized. * 

((7.) Letter of the Prefect of the Department of Chiriqui, at David, 
the capital of Chiriqui, to the Alcalde of Bocas del Toro, June 22, 1856, 
acknowledging the receipt of the hitter's notice to him of the arrival of 
the " Scientitic Corps," to make the necessary surveys for carrying out 
the road-grant, which he declared to be " the commencement to the 
realization of all the hopes of the people," and "as the initiation of the 
movement towards civilization, which is to bring to these regions that 
intellectual and industrial culture which has so much advanced the 
people of the North and of Europe." 

(e.) Despatch froiil the Alcalde of Bocas del Toro, to the Prefect of 
the Department of Chiriqui, September 17, 1857, showing the progress 
of the work in opening the road, by the Chiriqui Improvement Com- 
pany. 

(/.) Eeport of the agent of the Chiriqui Improvement Company, to 
the Prefect of the Department of Chiriqui, January 2, 1858, informing 
him of the opening of the road. 

(</.) Despatch of the Prefect of Chiriqui, at David, under the seal of 
State, January 23, 1858, acknowledging, "with great satisfaction," the 
completion of the work, and approving the action of the postmaster at 
Bocas del Toro in accepting it by sending the mail over it. 

{h.) Affidavit of George C. Shepherd, former Alcalde of Bocas del 
Toro, March 30, I860, showing that not the mail only but loads of pro- 
duce had been transported over the road, and the notification to the 
Prefect of the opening of the road; also, that the Chiriqui Improve- 
ment Company had furnished gratuitously a boat to transport the 
mail to the Island of Bocas del Toro regularly. 

(i) Certificate of twenty-one of the principal citizens of Bocas del 
Toro, (March 30, I860,) attesting the truth of the statements made 
by Shepherd in his affidavit, and stating, furthermore, that it was 
" universally admitted, both in this town (Bocas del Toro) and the 
south side of the Isthmus, that Mr. Ambrose W. Thompson, through 
his agents and representatives, has more than fulJiUed the requirements 
of his ^rivilegeJ^ 



Grant af Coal Lands. 

IV. — Grant to John E. Flandin and J. A. Morel under the firm- 
name of J. A. Morel & Co. from the Oabildo, or Legislative Council, 
of the District of Bocas del Toro, July 17, 1854, of twenty-five thousand 
fanegadas of vacant land, situated between the creeks known as Ban- 
ana, Splithill, the river Culebra, and the Cordilleras, (including all the 
"denouncements" hereinafter described; see sec. Y,) with a view to 
facilitate coal-mining; made under ^ law of April 12, 1851, of the Con- 
gress of ISTew Granada. 

Coal Mines. 

V. — (1.) Decree of the Government of the Province of Chiriqui, Au- 
gust 4, 1854, recognizing the "denouncement" by J. A. Morel and J. 
Eugene Flandin, of certain locations of coal mines, in the district of 
Bocas del Toro, to wit: Various veins of coal in the creeks known as 
Banana, Jones, Cultivation, Splithill, Sandy, Suarian, and Lunckoo, 
affluents of the Chiriqui lagoon, in the district of Bocas del Toro. 

(2.) Certificate of the Alcalde of the District of Bocas del Toro, Sep- 
tember 23, 1854, that the conditions of the law had been complied with; 
that he had put Morel & Co. in legal possession of the mines, and that 
they had sunk shafts on each of the veins of coal. 

(3.) Concession by the Province of Chiriqui, October 3, 1854, whereby 
J. A. Morel and J. Eugene Flandin were invested with full rights of 
property and possession in said coal lands. 

(4.) Decree of the Government of the Province of Chiriqui, January 
8, 1855, recognizing the "denouncement" by J. A. Morel & Co. of a coal 
mine on Pope's Island, which had been discovered by them. 

(5.) Certificate of the Alcalde of the District of Bocas del Toro, June 
G, 1855, that the conditions of the law had been complied with; that he 
had put Morel & Co, in legal possession of the mine, and. that a shaft 
had been sunk by them on Pope's Island. 

(6.) Concession by the Province of Chiriqui to Morel & Co., July 2, 
1855, granting them full and unreserved property to the mine on Pope's 
Island. 

(7.) Power of attorney, Bocas del Toro, August 26, 1854, from J. A. 
Morel and J. Eugene Flandin to George Pearce, of E'ew York City; 
general authority to sell and convey all the interests of said Morel and 
Flandin, in jDroiJerty, including the lands and mines described in the 
foregoing sections lY and Y of this abstract. 

(8.) Conveyance of same, ISTew York, July 28, 1855, by George Pearce, 
to the Chiriqui Improvement Company. 



Transactions of the United States with the Ghiriqui Improvement Company. 

YL— (1.) Indenture; May 21, 1859. "The United States acting by 
and through Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy," &c., and the Chiriqui 
Improvement Company and Ambrose W. Thompson, stipulates for — 

{a.) The right of way or transit for Government purposes of every 
description over the road, from the Chiriqui Lagoon to David, free of 
toll, &c. 

(&.) Lands not exceeding five thousand acres on the Chiriqui Lagoon, 
for coal-depots and naval stations, and also the same, at the harbor 
of Golfo Dulce. 

(c.) The right to use as harbors, the waters of the lagoons, bays, or 
gulfs sheltered or surrounded by the lands of Ambrose W. Thompson 
and the Chiriqui Improvement Company on both sides of the Isthmus. 

(fZ.) The right to all coal necessary for naval purx^oses where coal- 
depots and naval stations are established, upon the payment of the 
royalty to the Province of Chiriqui, as provided in the original grants. 

(e.) In consideration of this grant, the United States agreed to pay 
$300,000, upon the ratification of the contract by Congress. 

[ISToTE. — The contract was approved by the Senate, but failed in the 
House of Representatives on account of the derangement of the 
national finances at the session of 1860-'61. The Senate adhered, 
and, in a committee of Conference, it was determined, as a compro- 
mise, that a commisvsion of officers, detailed for the purjjose, from the 
Navy, the Army, and the Ci^"il Service, should be sent out to make an 
exploration of the Chiriqui harbors and coal deposits, and of the 
practicability of a railroad route across the Isthmus to connect the said 
harbors, and to report at the ensuing session of Congress. A naval 
exj)edition set out from Norfolk for this purpose in August, 1860, Cap- 
tain Engle, U. S. N., in charge, in the "Brooklyn," Captain Farragut 
commanding. The commission, composed of officers of the Army and 
Navy, and of the Civil Service of the United States detailed for the 
purpose by the President, and instructed to make a x^reliminary survey 
of the Chiriqui Isthmus with reference to the purposes of the contract, 
landed on the 24th of the same month in the Chiriqui Lagoon, and 
returned on the 28th of November following, having made a complete 
exi)loration of the harbors ujion both coasts and an examination of the 
intervening country across the Isthmus, including the coal fields on the 
Atlantic side. 

The expedition was fitted out with especial care for the efficient pros- 
ecution of the work. The report of Caj^tain Engle, made January 16, 
1861, includes the reports made to him by Lieutenant Jeffers, U. S. N., 
hydrographer ; by Lieutenant Morton, U. S. A., topographical engineer; 
and by Dr. John Evans, geologist. 

This very favorable and satisfactory report of the results of the ex- 
pedition, sustaining in all respects the action of the administration of 
President Buchanan in the premises, was transmitted to Congress Jan- 
uary 22, 1861, by the President, and attracted marked attention. It 



8 

was followed by an urgent letter from the Secretary of the Navy recom- 
mending the api)ropriation of the amount required for the fulfilment 
of the obligations of the contract, to enable the Grovernment to estab- 
lish the naval stations provided for, and to secure the great advantages 
of the coal supply, incident to their location and covered by the con- 
tract. But the momentous question of the civil war was pending. All 
appropriations other than such as were requisite for the necessities of 
the Government were precluded, and no immediate action was taken 
by Congress on the report of the commission. 

The interest of the Government in the matter continued, however, 
and in the following year, the report of the results of the expedition and 
the action taken by the preceding administration, having in the mean- 
while been brought to the attention of President Lincoln 5 after very 
carefnl consideration, a new agreement, embracing, together with the 
stipulations in substance, of the preceding contract, an elaborate plan 
for the colonization upon the Chiriqui Isthmus, of such of the recently- 
emancipated xjeople of the South as might desire to emigrate, was en- 
tered into. Congress having prcsdously ai^propriated the aggregate 
amount of $600,000, to be used at the discretion of the President in 
fiu'therauce of the plan of colonization.] \ 

(2.) Draft of contract approved, "Executive Mansion, Washington, 
September 11, 1862," by A. Lincoln, and the Secretary of the Interior 
directed to execute the same. 

(3.) Contract, Washington, September 12, 1862, ''Caleb B. Smith, 
Secretary of the Interior, for and on behalf of the United States and 
Ambrose W. Thomi)Son," stipulates for the survey of "the arable and 
l^asture lands" in the Province of Chiriqui, comi3rised within the con- 
cessions owned and controlled by said Ambrose W. Thompson ; their 
allotment to and the settlement thereon of "colonists of African de- 
scent who "propose emigrating thither from the United States." The 
contract pro^ades also for working the coal mines upon the property of 
the Chiriqui Improvement Company, and the supply of coal for the 
Navy of the United States. 

(4.) Irrevocable power of attorney, September 12, 1862, Ambrose W. 
Thompson to "Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior of the United 
States, and each successive Secretary thereof," "to execute the said 
purposes, and carry out all the necessary conditions and obligations." 
"Considerations and obligations agreed to," and power of attorney 
"accepted" by said Secretary. 

[Note. — The exigencies of war induced a change in the purpose of 
the Government with respect to the immediate prosecution of the plan 
of colonization set forth in these instruments, and fnlfllment on the 
part of the Government of the obligations of the contract was necessarily 
postponed. It was deemed ad^dsable to enlist the freedmen as soldiers, 
and to this end to defer for a time the opportunity of emigration, and no 
step has since been taken by the Government looking to the resump- 
tion of the undertaking. 



y 

This agreement, including the mutnal obligations of the irrevocable 
power of attorney vesting the title to a portion of the possessions of the 
Chiriqui Ijnprovement Company, is still a subsisting contract between 
the parties. It was repeatedly recognized officially, during the subse- 
quent years of the administration of President Lincoln, as existing un- 
impaired in any respect whatever. Among the evidences of such 
recognition, particular attention is due to the letter of March 18, 1864, 
from the Hon. J. P. Usher, then Secretary of the Interior, addressed to 
the president of the Chiriqui Improvement Company, in Avliich it is ex- 
pressly claimed, in behalf of the United States, that the contract is 
still in force, and that its provisions may be availed of, by the Govern- 
ment for all the purposes intended, at any time when deemed advisable 
on the part of the Executive. The opinion is added, that a high esti- 
mate is entertained with respect to the international value of the prop- 
erty, and the benefits to be derived therefrom, by extended commercial 
relations between this country and neighboring maritime States. With 
the postponement of the enterprise in behalf of the emancipated slaves, 
the establishment of the naval stations contemi)lated was also again 
deferred. It is known, however, that Mr, Lincoln gave the subject his 
continued and very earnest attention, and that he expressed a decided 
purpose to resume the prosecution of the great work he had begun, and 
which he cherished wdth so much interest and hoi)e, looking forward as 
he did to the colonization of the freedmen in a land so favorably adapted 
to this experiment, as a step of great importance in the solution of the 
embarrassing problem of emancipation, and to the possession of the 
Chiriqui harbors, with their exceptional command of both the great 
oceans east and west, as a measure of wise forethought for the devel- 
opment of the commercial and maritime interests of the United States. 
The interest of the Government in the matter w as renewed from time 
to time during the administrations of Presidents Johnson and Grant, 
but no plan for definite action adopted.] 

Authentication of Titles by Certificate of Granadian Minister. 

VII. — Official certificate of General P. A . Herran, Granadian minister 
to the United States, April 8, 1859, to whom the evidences of the title 
of the Chiriqui Improvement Company, to the possessions described in 
sections III, lY, and Y, of this Abstract, were submitted, at the in- 
stance of the Attorney-General of the United States, in which it is 
certified under the seal of the legation at Washington — 

(1.) That the documents are genuine and entitled to full faith and 
credit. 

(2.) That the titles are regulated by Granadian legislation, and that 
all the formalities of law have been observed. 

(3.) That at the dates of the several grants, Chiriqui was a province 
of JSTew Granada, and had a Provincial Legislature and Governor. 

(4.) That the province then possessed two classes of lands, the " In- 
dulto," granted by the King of Spain; and the "Tierras Baldeas," or 
vacant lands, granted by the Congress of the Republic of ISTew Gran- 
ada to the Provinces. 



10 

(5.) That tlie Provincial Legislature had full power to make the grants 
of public lands, and concessions of privileges, and that the Governor of 
the province had power to grant the titles to the coal mines, aforesaid, 
"in' virtue of the existing law (10, part 4, section 5) of the Grranadiau 
code." 

(6.) That by the Federal Constitution of Kew Granada, foreigners 
enjoy the same civil rights as the citizens of that country, and are' 
authorized " to buy, to possess, and to sell real estate." 



Proceedings in the' Supreme Court of New Granada^ to annul the right 
to improve and. control the Wagon-road from David, in Chiriqui, to the 
Ghiriqui Lagoon. 

YIII. — The contract of May 21, 1859, between the Chiriqui Improve- 
ment Company and the United States, attracted the attention of the 
Panama Eailroad Company. The iuiprovement of the road from David 
to the Chiriqui Lagoon had, already been the subject of complaint on 
the part of the railroad company; the pro^dsion of the contract, author- 
izing the use of the road by the United States, free of toll, gave promi- 
nence to the alleged grievance, and accordingly the Attorney-General 
of New Granada, at the instance of that comi^any, in support of 
its claim to an exclusive right to construct a road for wheeled car- 
riages across any portion of the Isthmus connecting North and South 
America, filed a petition in the Supreme Court at Bogota, April 20, 
1860, applying for "the suspension" of the law of the State of Panama 
affirming the ordinance of the Province of Chiriqui, by which the right 
to improve and control the wagon-road from David to the Lagoon was 
granted. It was claimed — 

(1.) That the ordinance \dolated the charter of the Panama Railroad 
Company, inasmuch as the seventh article thereof stipulated that no 
other company should be permitted to build a road of any kind " between 
the two oceans across the Isthmus of Panama^ 

(2.) That it also violated the said charter, because, to make the road 
"into a carriage-road is not to improve it, but rather to make a new 
one, and one of a different nature." 

The court pronounced its decision at Bogota, May 29, 1860, based 
upon the following grounds: 

(1.) That the road-grant to Ambrose W. Thompson contemplated "a 
horse or mule-road," and "the moment it accommodated wheeled ve- 
hicles, its nature is entirely changed." 



11 

(2.) That the road exteuded from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. 

(3.) That there is no isthmus between IsTorth and South America hut 
the Isthmus of Panama, which begins at Darien and extends to the 
confines of Costa Rica. 

(4.) That the charter of the Panama Eailroad Company would be 
violated by the construction of a carriage-road from ocean to ocean any- 
where upon the isthmus. 

Upon these grounds the following judgment was rendered: 

"The Supreme Court of the Confederation, using the power conceded 
to it by Article 59 of the Constitution, suspends Article 2 of the law of 
the 6th October 1855, of the State of Panama, so far as it approved 
the ordinance issued in David, the 20th February, 1854, conceding a 
privilege to Ambrose W. Thompson, to make the road between said 
city and the Chiriqui Lagoon Jit for wheels, said ordinance being con- 
trary to the dispositions quoted." 

» 

[ISToTE. — It is enough to say in exposing the utter absence of founda- 
tion, either in fact or in law, for this preposterous decision, that in 
express terms it was a total exclusion of the inhabitants of the entire 
Isthmus, and all others, for all time, from the right to construct a road 
of any description for wheeled carriages across the American Isthmus 
upon any hue within its limits, confining the right of such transit to 
the sole control of the monoi^oly in behalf of which the proceedings 
were instituted, and requiring the citizens of provinces of the Isthmus 
more than a hundred miles remote from the line of the railroad, to 
restrict their roadwaj^s for transit from sea to sea to foot-trails and mule- 
paths onlj^ 

The (leer ee of the court, if valid, affects only the road-grant.^ 

It is to be observed that with respect to the rights of the Cbiriqui 
Improvement Company, the decision of the court in no respect what- 
ever affects the title of the company to the lands acquired by virtue of 
the completion of the road, in compliance with the terms of the grant. 
The decision had no further purpose or extent than to affirm the absurd 
exclusive claim of the Panama Eailroad Company with respect to trans- 
portation across the Isthmus. 

The validity of the title to the land-grant, which was coupled with 
the obligation to improve the road, was not in issue, and has never 
been questioned. The conditions of the grant had all been fully com- 
phed with, and the title to the lands, had vested, previous to the 
date of this proceeding, and the decision of the court had no bearing 
whatever upon this or any other title, franchise, or privilege of the 
Chiriqui Imx)rovement Comjiany, except the right to improve and use 
the said road. 

The Hon. George W. Jones, ambassador from the United States at 
Bogota at the time, entered a formal protest in behalf of Ambrose W. 
Thomx)son, as a citizen of the United States, and the grantee of the 
road privilege, against the decision depriving him of this i^rivilege. 

The decision in no respect whatever affects the right of the Chiriqui 
Inq^rovement Company to construct roads for transportation, of any 
and every description, between the two harbors embraced within the 



12 

limits of its possessions. The unrestricted nature of tliis right; its 
freedom from conflict of any description with the terms of the charter 
of the Panama Railroad Company, and the true interi)retation of the 
charter with respect to the territorial limits within which the exclusive 
rights and privileges of the latter company are confined, are conclu- 
sively shown in the certificate of Gleneral Mosquera, at the date of the 
certificate, (London, January 3, 1866,) ambassador from Colombia to 
Great Britain, and President elect of Columbia. By a treaty of amity, 
commerce, and boundaries concluded between jS'ew Granada and Costa 
Eica on the 11th of June, 1856, a j)ortion of the Province of Chiriqui 
included in the land-grant originally made to Agnew, was transferred 
to the territory and jurisdiction of Costa Rica. The entire property of 
the company on the Pacific coast in the vicinity of Golfo Dulce, by virtue 
of this treaty, ceased to be a part of the State of Panama and of the 
Republic of Colombia, and General Mosquera, referring to these circum- 
stances, expressly certifies: "That according to the contract with the 
Panama Railroad Company, it is only prohibited to concede privileges 
to make carriage-roads or railways from one sea to the other acrot^s the 
Isthmus of Panama ; but they may be constructed from Colombia to 
the Repuhlic of Costa Bica, either from the interior of the State of Pan- 
ama, or from Chiriqui Lagoon, or the Bay of Almirante." He further 
certifies that the territory in the ^dcinity of Chiriqui Lagoon did not. 
"at the time of the concession to the Panama Railroad Company, be- 
long either to the Province of Veragua, or that of Panama, as it is 
expressly said in article 7 of the law of June, 1855, and which territory 
was called in that epoch 'Bocas del Toro,' and was separated from Ve- 
ragua by the limits fixed in the Cordillera which traverses the conti- 
nent, and in tchich territory at that time could he and in the present can 
he conceded^ the opening of a railroad from the Bay of Almirante or the 
Chiriqui Lagoon to the territory of Costa Rica, on the other side of the 
river Culebra, which is the limit of tlie Colombian territory; concerning 
which limit the two Governments of Colombia and Costa Rica have ex- 
isting agreements of limits," and that "the legal concessions that have 
been made by the ancient legislatures of the provinces must be carried 
out and accomplished." The purpose of the companj^ to exercise this 
right M^as subsequently made the foundation for the comprehensive 
grant included in the Mosquera contract, ap])roved by the Colombian 
Congress, to which further reference is hereafter made in its proper 
place, and a copy of the contract inserted ; and no doubt whatever now 
exists as to the unqualified right of the Chiriqui Improvement Com- 
pany to construct a road across the isthmus, in the province of Chiriqui. 
It is to be observed further, that with respect to all other rights, 
franchises, and privileges acquired by Ambrose W. Thompson and the 
Chiriqui Improvement Company, by virtue of other grants herein 
referred to, (see sees. II, III, lY, V, of this abstract,) no question what- 
ever was involved in the proceedings in the supreme court at Bogota. 
All these interests remain, in every respect, undisturbed, their validity 
unimpaired under the original grants and concessions from the Province 
of Chiriqui. 

But the decree of the court is not valid with respect to the road-grant — 
the right to improve and use the road from the Chiriqui Lagoon to David. 

(1.) The question whether the charter of the Panama Railroad Com 
pany was or was not violated was a, private question, concerning jt)W'«fl^e 



13 

rights merely. The Attorney-General had no authority to refer it to 
the Supreme Court as ajjublie question. 

(2.) The Supreme Court had no jurisdiction over questions of private 
ri(/hts, unless the proper parties were before it. The proceedings of 
the court were ex parte, and, therefore, not binding ui)ou Ambrose W. 
Thompson or the Chiriqui Improvement Company, who were neither 
parties nor j)rivies. 

(3.) The Attorney-G-eneral of New Granada, at the instance of the 
Minister of the Interior, had passed upon the original ordinance of July 
14, 1851, granting the right to make and use the road, as a public ques- 
tion, and had decided that it did not infringe any of the rights of the 
Panama Railroad Company; and, therefore, as private rights had been 
subsequently acquired, neither the Attorney-General nor the Sui^reme 
Court had any authority to consider it a ptihlic question, to the inval- 
idation or disturbance of these vested rights; and the Supreme Court 
having affirmed the road-grant by its decree of January 11, 1855, and 
private rights having become thereby vested, had no authority to 
reverse the former decision and destroy these rights by a proceeding 
upon information upon alleged public interest. 

(4.) It was a mere pretence of the Panama Eailroad Company, that 
the only isthmus between North and South America is the Isthmus 
of Panama; every recognized authentic and standard history and 
geography, of the isthmus connecting North and South America, gives 
a fixed location to the isthmus of that name, and recognizes the Isthmus 
of Chiriqui, as well as others, as distinct from that of Panama. The 
name is derived from that of the ancient province with which it is 
identified, and within which and the adjoining Province of Veragua, 
and contingently certain other specified provinces to the south of the 
line of the road, the right of the Panama Eailroad Company to public 
lands is repeatedly, in exj)ress terms, in the several articles of its 
charter, restricted. 

The effect of the decree, upon the contract, between the United States and 
the Chiriqui Improvement Company. 

The decree, whether valid or otherwise, with respect to the precise 
question at issue, has an important incidental bearing as an implied 
approval by the court, of all the remaining provisions of the contract 
of May 21, 1859, between the United States and the Chiriqui Improve- 
ment Company. 

(1.) The information of the Attorney-General, brought the entire con- 
tract, with all its conditions and provisions, before the court. 

(2.) The court confined its decree to the nature of the road-grant, and 
only held that to be invalid "so far as" it gave the right to build a 
carriage-way. 

(3.) The effect, therefore, of the decision was to leave as approved by 
the Supreme Court of New Granada, the remaining provisions of the 
contract in behalf of the United States for — 

(1.) The establishment of coal-depots, naval stations, &c., in the 
harbors of Chiriqui Lagoon and Golfo Dulce. 

(2.) The right to work the coal mines in the neighborhood of Bocas 
del Toro. 

(3.) The right to possess and occupy all the land conveyed by the 
Chiriqui Improvement Conii)any for the purposes specified in the con- 
tract. The United States is justified, therefore, in assuming that the 



14 

establishment of coal-depots and naval stations both at Chiriqui Lagoon 
and Golfo Dulce, if made, would meet with no objection irom the IS'ew 
Granadian authorities. An objection now interx^osed, would be in bad 
faith, and estopped by an acquiescence continued for over twenty 
years. 

The following extract from the report of the Committee on Naval 
Aifairs, House of Representatives, Thirty-sixth Congress, First Session, 
reporting in favor of the approval of the conditional contract between 
the United States and the Chiriqui Improvement Company, referred to 
in section VI of this Abstract, is of importance upon this point. Re- 
ferring to the action of the Granadian Senate upon the Cass-Herrau 
Treaty, in 1858, the report proceeds: '^It was then declared that 4f the 
United States wanted depots for their ISTavy or merchant vessels, the 
Isthmus and its islands were as free to them as the Ocean -, oiu^ laws do 
not oppose, but encourage it — that foreign citizens have in the whole 
Granadian territory, the right to purchase or lease and possess any 
kind of real estate whatever.' ' In this point of view, the New Grana- 
dian Senate considers that, for all practical j^urposes, the seventh 
Art.' — of the treaty — providing for a coal-depot — 'might be immediately 
obtained by American citizens, for the Navy Department, without the 
aid of said article, and they consider the imperfect knowledge the 
American people possess of New Grauadian laws is the cause why such 
depot had not been established long ago.'" 

The report of the Committee concludes : " This is conclusive as to 
the views of New Granada, and the precedent of the station in the 
Mediterranean settles clearly the authority of the United States to act 
for the benefit of the Navy. In securing the right of way, free of tolls, 
she provides independent mail facilities for the whole Pacific coasts of 
North and South America, which may hereafter become of vast benefit 
to the commerce of the country, and which, at the present time, without 
the additional and great benefit of the coal and maritime stations, 
would justify a much larger expenditure than that provided in the 
contract." 

This report was made May 20, 1860, and the same considerations in 
this instructive official paper urged, are now, after the lapse of twenty 
years, and repeated transactions with successive administrations, dur- 
ing the interval, for the attainment of the important objects contem- 
plated, again presented to the attention of the Government, with the 
Tastly-increased weight they receive from the circumstances and require- 
ments of the present time. 

A somewhat extended review has been made in this note, of the de- 
cision of the court at Bogota. It is important that its precise bearing 
upon the rights of the Chiriqui Improvement Company should be 
clearly defined.] 

Additional grant by the United States of Colombia, recognizing former 
grants and the right to construct a railroad or wagon-road across the 
Isthmus. 

IX. — Contract, London, March 3, 1866, between General de Mos- 
queira, Minister Plenipotentiary to. Great Britain, (and then President 
elect,) of and in behalf of the United States of Colombia, and Ambrose 
W. Thompson, in behalf of the Chiriqui Improvement Company, grant- 



15 

ing to said company, in consideration of the establishment of steam- 
ship coastwise service upon the Atlantic and Pacific shores of the 
American Isthmus — 

(1.) All the public lands in the districts of Bocas del Toro and 
Alanje. 

(2.) Full iDower to improve said lands, and construct all roads and 
structures requisite for colonization purposes. 

This contract expressly and specifically recognizes — 
(1.) The right of the Chiriqui Improvement Company to construct a 
railroad or wagon-road across the Isthmus from Chiriqui Lagoon to Golfo 
Dulce; and provides — 

(2.) For the establishment of steamship service as aforesaid, and — 
(3.) That, upon the approval of the contract by the ISTational Con- 
gress, the Chiriqui Improvement Company " shall be recognized as 
such, and shall be invested with the Colombian national character, 
having the right to use the national flag," &c., &c., and — 

(4.) That "if, before the close of the year 1867, the company has not 
been completely organized, and work commenced for the opening of the 
railway ; " and if the steamship service contemplated shall not be sup- 
plied '^ as hereinbefore said," then the said contract "is by that fact 
annulled/' 

(a) Eatiflcation of said contract by the Colombian Congress, Bogota, 
June 20, 1866. Attested by the proper officers of the Government, 
including the President, under seal. 

(b) Certificate of Comrxiissioner of Fish Creek, duly verified by local 
authorities of Bocas del Toro, December 24, 1867, certifying commence- 
ment of work, &c., by said company. 

(c) Executive decree, Bogota, July 6, 1868, that the Chiriqui Im- 
provement Company, having proved — 

(1.) That it is organized according to the stipulation of March 3, 
1866 1 

(2.) That it has commenced the work according to the said stipulation — 
The National Executive thereupon declares said company " in the 
enjoyment of" all its privileges, rights, and exemptions, and accepts 
one hundred shares of the capital stock of the company, &c., &c. 

Grants by the Beiniblic of Costa Mica. 

X.— (1.) Grant to Gabriel La Fond, October 5, 1849, of public lands, 
within the territory of Costa Eica, as claimed by said Eepublic, (in dis- 
pute with New Granada,) to wit: An extended area of agriciiltural land 
along the shores of the Pacific Ocean and the bay of Golfo Dulce, in- 



16 

eluding the entire sliores and waters of the bay, and extending north- 
ward ten (10) leagues. 

(2.) Grant to Gabriel La Fond, March 10, 1850, at Paris, by FeUpe 
Molino, Costa-Eican minister to France, approved by the Congress of 
Costa Kica, San Jose, June 15, 1850— a strip of land one league wide, 
extending from the northeast angle of the above-decreed grant to 
Chiriqui Lagoon, in the direction of Bocas del Toro. 

{a.) Transfer of same, January 10, 1854, by Gabriel La Fond and asso- 
ciates, to Victor Herran. 

(b.) Transfer of same, by Victor Herran, February 25, 1851, to Am- 
brose W. Thompson. 

[XoTE.— These grants include a portion of the grants by the Province 
of Chiriqui, to Saiitiago Agnew, and to Morel and Flandin. (See sec- 
tions II and IV.) The conditions, prescribed by the Eepublic of Costa 
Rica, were fully complied with, upon completion of the road from 
Chiriqui Lagoon to Da%dd, to connect the waters of the Atlantic with 
the Pacific] 

Settlement of Boundary between ¥eio Granada and Costa Bica; and 
Treaty Guaranty of Titles. 

XL — (1.) Treaty of amity, commerce, and boundaries between New 
Granada and Costa Rica, June 11, 1856, by which a portion of the 
grant, originally made to Agnew, became a part of the territory and 
subject to the jurisdiction of Costa Rica. 

(2.) Decree of the Congress of New Granada, July 9, 1860, affirm- 
ing the treaty of June 11, 1856, upon condition — 

(a) That the grants of lands in the neighborhood of Golfo Dulce, 
made previous to the treaty by the corporations or authorities of New 
Granada, should be held to be valid, and that the parties interested 
in them shall not be disturbed; and — 

(/>) That existing titles, whether legal or equitable, to "either lands 
or properties which Costa Rica may become possessed of, under this 
treaty, shall be respected by that Republic." 

[Note. — Upon the exchange of ratifications it was mutually stipu- 
lated as a part of this treaty, "that the grants of land or other prop- 
erties in the neighborhood of Golfo Dulce, in favor of individuals, by 
the corporations or authorities of New Granada, piior to signing of the 
treat}^, shall he in the future as I'alid as if made by the government of 
Costa Rica; and consequently the parties interested in such grant shall 
at no time be disturbed in the enjoyment of them.'''' The treaty is there- 
fore a mutual and reciprocal guarantee by New Granada and Costa 
Rica, of the validity of the title of the Chiriqui Improvement Company 
to all its possessions on the Pacific Coast of the Isthmus, and their 
protection by both nations.] 



17 

The Titles are Valid. 

XII. — Upon the foregoing data, the opinions, official and unoffiqial, of 
eminent lawyers of the United States and England, and of the Eepub- 
lics of Colombia and Costa Eica, have, from time to time, been ex- 
pressed in positive and nnqnalified approval of the several titles of the 
Chiriqni Improvement Company and Ambrose W. Thompson, set forth 
in this abstract, as in all respects valid and perfect. Opinions are in- 
cluded, of Seiior E. F. Cordera, Judge of the Superior Court of New 
Grranada; Don Justa-Axoa emena , former President of the New G-rana- 
dian Congress, and now Minister from Colombia to the United States ; 
Seiior Felipe Molina, Minister from Costa Eica to the United States ; 
Hon. Jere. S. Black, Attorney- General ; Hon. Isaac Toucey, Secretary 
of the Navy; Hon. James Green, Hon. W. P. Fessenden, Hon. Francis 
P. Blair, Sr.; Hon. Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior; Hon. J. 
P. Usher, Secretary of the Interior; Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Secretary 
of the Treasury; Hon. Edward Jordan, Solicitor of the Treasury; Hon. 
Wm. M. Evarts; Mr. W. E. Drake, of London. 

The report of the Naval Committee of the House of Eepresentatives, 
36th Congress, 1st session, May 24, 1860, Hon. F. H. Morse, of Maine, 
chairman, upon the conditional contract of May 21, 1859, by the Secre- 
tary of the Navy, with the Chiriqui Improvement Company, also con- 
curs in the opinion that the evidence of the "legal soundness" of the 
rights of the company is " sufficient to remove all doubt on the ques- 
tion of title." 



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